Tesla’s future plans include bus, heavy-duty truck, carsharing

By
Josée Paquet ,
2016-07-21

As promised last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk yesterday revealed his “Top Secret Master Plan Part 2”. In future years, the colourful billionaire wants to address all major segments, so in addition to the Model S, Model X, and the upcoming Model 3, look for a future compact SUV and a new kind of pickup truck.

A lower cost vehicle than the Model 3 is unlikely to be necessary, he said. Rather, Tesla will focus on two other types of electric vehicles: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport ― buses, if you prefer.

Tesla will also develop a fleet of self-driving vehicles for a carsharing network. Owners will be able to add their car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and even have it generate income for them while they're busy at work or on vacation, thus significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. Time will tell how many Tesla customers will agree to let others drive their precious investment, though.

Speaking of autonomous cars, Elon Musk wrote on his blog that “when true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. Once it picks you up, you will be able to sleep, read or do anything else en route to your destination. He did not comment further on Tesla’s Autopilot feature, which may or may not have been responsible for the death of a driver recently.

Part 2 of the Master Plan also includes “stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage.”